What is chew on this about?
In the fashion of Upton Sinclair 's The Jungle —which revealed the dangerous, unhealthy, and unfair world of the meatpacking industry at the turn of the twentieth century— Chew on This provides a gritty perspective on the fast food industry of today.
What is the best study guide for chew on this?
Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of “Chew On This” by Charles Wilson, Eric Schlosser. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics.
What age group is chew on this written for?
Though the subject matter of the book resonates with Schlosser's previous book, Fast Food Nation, Chew on This is written for young adults.
What is chewing on the shoes?
1. to gnaw at something. The dog was chewing on my shoe. 2. Go to chew something over. v. 1. To bite and grind something with the teeth: If we give the puppy a bone, maybe it will stop chewing on our shoes.
What is the book Chew on This about?
In the fashion of Upton Sinclair 's The Jungle —which revealed the dangerous, unhealthy, and unfair world of the meatpacking industry at the turn of the twentieth century— Chew on This provides a gritty perspective on the fast food industry of today. Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson use statistics, personal interviews, and published research to prove America's dependence on the fast food industry, as well as the impact the industry has on America's economic, social, and physical well-being. Though the subject matter of the book resonates with Schlosser's previous book, Fast Food Nation, Chew on This is written for young adults.
What is the afterword of Chew on This?
The afterword of Chew on This, is about both the direct and indirect public response to the book. Not long after the book's release, former President Bill Clinton and Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee joined forces with the Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo to begin reform that would remove “sugary soft drinks” from schools by 2010. The Walt Disney Corporation ended its marketing relationship with McDonald's. Some companies launched a publicity campaign and websites to counter the ideas in the book and offer their version of the story. Write a two-page paper describing your position on the issues presented in the book. For example, do you think soda machines in schools make a difference in the health and well-being of you and your fellow students? Do you see a problem with the low wages and long hours of fast food restaurant employees? Do you notice a correlation between advertising and your desire to consume certain fast food products?
What is a vignette in Chew on This?
A vignette is a short descriptive scene that illuminates a character or theme in a particular way. For example, Schlosser and Wilson use a vignette about the town Martinsburg, West Virginia, to show how the once-rural area gradually became a bustling suburb due to the construction of highways and the influx of fast food chains. Schlosser and Wilson also use the story of Sam Fabrikant, a young man who had complications from his gastric bypass surgery, as a vignette that illustrates the health problems associated with obesity and the overconsumption of fast food. At the start of the book, the authors offer a vignette of “Hamburger Charlie,” a man in Wisconsin credited with the invention of the first hamburger in 1885, to mark the humble beginnings of fast food.
When was Chew on This published?
Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson's Chew on This was published by Houghton Mifflin in Boston, 2006. The book, a version of Schlosser's bestselling Fast Food Nation aimed at the youth market, became a bestseller and received accolades from reviewers writing for national newspapers and journals. Representatives from the fast food industry, however, did not appreciate the book's approach or its rhetoric and created a media backlash to challenge the “indigestible propaganda,” “factual errors,” and “misconceptions about food production.”
What did John Spargo write about hunger?
John Spargo wrote a book in 1906 called The Bitter Cry of Children in which he exposed the horrible fact that two million children in the United States were starving because of poverty. Spargo claimed that children who were chronically hungry would not perform as well in school and that funding to boost a child's nutrition would help that particular child learn better. Not long afterward, Dr. William Maxwell advocated for a government-sponsored school lunch program in New York City so students could purchase meals at a reasonable and affordable price. In the 1930s, President Roosevelt developed a new program in which the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) would purchase food from farmers and deliver it to schools. This food was used to help feed less-fortunate children and was the start of a national school lunch program. In 1946, Congress created the National School Lunch Act, which protected the “health and well-being of the nation's children.” Decades later, as fast food companies courted school administrators and offered opportunities for scholarship and funding, the government wondered if fast food went against the goal of the National School Lunch Act. The USDA decided to prevent schools from selling “foods of minimal nutritional value,” but the National Soft Drink Association and other food companies did not think the ban was fair and took the USDA to court. After losses and appeals, the final judgment was in favor of the sale of junk food, with some limitations. Today, schools use the sale of junk food and soda to fund extracurricular activities and the costs associated with those activities.
What did Walt Disney do before McDonald's?
Before Ray Kroc made his success with the conformist and systematic processes of McDonald's, Walt Disney was operating a movie studio in Los Angeles, California. At twenty-two, Disney invented a new way of animating films and managed his employees much like the employees at McDonald's: with assembly-line efficiency. His love of technology and progress helped build an empire that would unite mega-corporations with young consumers; his methods of marketing combined entertainment with publicity. He dreamed of creating an amusement park that could manufacture happiness and optimism.
Who is the author of Fast Food Nation?
Bestselling author Eric Schlosser takes what he learnt and documented in his popular book, Fast Food Nation, and presents it to preteens and adolescents - the fast food industry's biggest market.
When was Fast Food Nation published?
When Eric Schlosser’s best-selling book, Fast Food Nation, was published for adults in 2001, many called for his groundbreaking insight to be shared with young people. Now Schlosser, along with co-writer Charles Wilson, has investigated the subject further, uncovering new facts children need to know. In Chew On This, they share with kids the ...
What does "chew on" mean?
chew on (something) 1. Literally, to bite or gnaw on something. The baby has been completely miserable lately, except for when he's chewing on a teething ring. 2. To contemplate something. I've been chewing on this job offer for days, but I still haven't made a decision. See also: chew, on.
What does "chew" mean in English?
2. To meditate or ponder something; think about something : I chewed on the question for a full minute before answering. See also: chew, on. The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.

Introduction
- ERIC SCHLOSSER CHARLES WILSON 2006 In the fashion of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle—which revealed the dangerous, unhealthy, and unfair world of the meatpacking industry at the turn of the twentieth century—Chew on This provides a gritty perspective on the fast food industry of today. Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson use statistics, personal interviews, and published research to …
Author Biography
- Eric Schlosser was born August 17, 1959, in New York City. He received his bachelor's degree in American History from Princeton University, where he experimented with different forms of writing while editing the university's humor magazine, writing plays, and studying journalism. Following his years at Princeton, Schlosser intended to pursue an academic career and went to …
Plot Summary
- Introduction Chew on Thisgreets the reader with statistics: “Every day about one out of fourteen Americans eats at a McDonald's. Every month about nine out of ten American children visit one.” The introduction offers McDonald's as a symbol for the fast food industry at large, but proceeds to establish the purpose behind the book: to inspire the rea...
Characters
- Carl Archer Inspired by the McDonald brothers' Speedee Service System, Carl Archer opened Carl's Drive-In Barbeque in 1941. The restaurant eventually grew into Carl's Jr., one of the most popular fast food chains on the West Coast.
Media Adaptations
- The 2006 movie Fast Food Nation adapts the books written by Schlosser and Wilson. Richard Linklater wrote and directed the film, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival. The film is not a documen...
Themes
- The Effect of Fast Food on the Body The main message of Chew on This is two-fold: (1) fast food is not part of a wholesome, well-balanced diet like its marketing purports it to be, and (2) the fast food industry adversely affects people on a physical level. Obviously, the high calorie, high sodium, high fat, high sugar content of fast food affects the health of consumers. Most fast foo…
Style
- Research The foundation of Chew on Thisis derived from research conducted by Schlosser and Wilson. Schlosser and Wilson had to interview many people for this book, including employees of fast
Topics For Further Study
- The afterword of Chew on This, is about both the direct and indirect public response to the book. Not long after the book's release, former President Bill Clintonand Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee...
- The “Mr. McDonald's Breasts” section of Chew on Thisprovides gruesome details about the events and procedures of the chicken processing industry. Write a one-page essay about ho…
- The afterword of Chew on This, is about both the direct and indirect public response to the book. Not long after the book's release, former President Bill Clintonand Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee...
- The “Mr. McDonald's Breasts” section of Chew on Thisprovides gruesome details about the events and procedures of the chicken processing industry. Write a one-page essay about how this particular de...
- Some critics of Chew on Thissay that fast food is not to blame for obesity and other health problems, but that people should take personal responsibility for the choices they make, particularly as...
- Chew on Thisillustrates its points using several real-world examples based on interviews tha…
Historical Context
- The Drive-In Culture When the fast food industry was just beginning, the drive-in restaurant made its mark. Born by the automobile industryand a population on the go, the drive-in restaurant provided a place for people to be seen tooling around in their new jalopies. These restaurants opened in warm climates so customers could eat with their windows down and carhops could e…
Critical Overview
- Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson's Chew on This was published by Houghton Mifflin in Boston, 2006. The book, a version of Schlosser's bestselling Fast Food Nationaimed at the youth market, became a bestseller and received accolades from reviewers writing for national newspapers and journals. Representatives from the fast food industry, however, did not appreciate the book's ap…